Dikembe Mutombo hit a pair of free throws with just under two
minutes remaining as the Atlanta Hawks equaled the best start in
franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 80-78 over
the two-time defending champion Chicago Bulls.

The Hawks, one of three unbeaten teams in the NBA, equaled the
5-0 start posted in 1986-87.

The game was played before a Georgia Dome crowd of 45,790, the
largest to see a basketball game in the state of Georgia. The
attendance also was the fifth largest to see an NBA game and the
biggest since 49,551 attended a game between the Denver Nuggets
and Minnesota Timberwolves on April 17th, 1990.

"It felt good that we had a lot of people out there," said Hawks
guard Mookie Blaylock. "If we keep on playing like we are,
they'll come back to see us."

After Michael Jordan's 15-foot jumper put the Bulls ahead,
78-76, Blaylock sank a pair of free throws to tie it with 2:25
left.

Jordan committed an offensive foul and, on Atlanta's next trip
down the floor, Mutombo drew a foul on Luc Longley. He sank the
go-ahead foul shots with 1:58 left.

Chicago had three chances to tie in the waning moments. Dennis
Rodman missed a pair of free throws with 78 seconds left, then
committed an offensive foul with 40.7 seconds to play. The
Bulls still had a chance to win, but Jordan's three-pointer with
seven seconds left clanged off the rim.

"I really didn't realize it was a three until I took the shot,"
Jordan said. "I was looking for an open shot. I thought I had
the defense at a disadvantage. We were running the screen and
roll pretty much in the fourth quarter, so I had been getting
some good looks and I thought I had the defense off balance."

"I just haven't been playing," Rodman said. "The interest level
just isn't there. I gave no effort tonight. I had no effort.
It's very difficult to question my teammates. Right now, it's
difficult to get up for games."

"It's not just about beating the Bulls," Mutombo said. "It's
about getting as many wins as we can in the beginning of the
regular season. We know what we want to accomplish ... getting
a championship."

Jordan scored 27 points for the Bulls, who had their three-game
winning streak snapped.

Atlanta held a 74-67 lead with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter
before the Bulls went on a 9-2 run, capped by Jud Buechler's
jumper with 3:15 that tied it.

The Hawks used an early first-quarter run to build a lead they
held for most of the game. Alaredy ahead, 7-4, with 10:26 left
in the opening period, Atlanta went on an 18-6 run to take
extend to 25-10 with 3:01 left. Tyrone Corbin was the key
contributor in the spurt with eight points.

Alan Henderson's layup two minutes into the second quarter gave
the Hawks a 38-25 edge before the Bulls embarked on their first
run. Toni Kukoc had six points during an 18-8 spurt that cut the
margin to 46-43 with 1:34 to go before halftime.

Corbin had 12 points in the first half as the Hawks held a 50-47
lead at halftime.

Chicago took its first lead when Jordan hit a jumper with 9:59
left in the third to maie it 51-50. Jordan was 11-for-25 from
the field.

The game was knotted, 58-58, but the Hawks closed the third
quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 67-60 lead.

Each team struggled with its shooting. The Bulls shot 40
percent (32-of-80) from the field while Atlanta connected on 37
percent of its shots (29-of-79).

The teams were meeting for the first time since the Bulls
defeated Atlanta in five games in last year's Eastern Conference
semifinals.

"It feels good to be 5-0," said Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens.
"This game was a good test early in the year. We came up with a
couple of good defensive plays, we won the game and that's all
that counts. Down the stretch you have to try an execute and we
did."